- Acquisitions
- Cataloging Tools, Documentation
- Catalogs, Authority Records
- Classification
- Cooperative Programs
- General, Descriptive Cataloging
- Products for Purchase
- Professional Activities
- Publications, Reports
- Subject Headings
Subscribe
Receive an e-mail when a new issue of the Library of Congress Cataloging Newsline is available.
- Does the Library of Congress (LC) sell books?
- How can I buy a book with the following LCCN (Library of Congress Card Number)?
- I hear the Library of Congress gives away books?
- How much is a book worth?
- Can I sell material to the Library of Congress?
- I sold some books to the Library. When will LC pay my bill?
- How does the Library of Congress obtain its books and other materials?
- Which vendors cover which country?
- How are vendors selected?
- Can I donate a book to the Library?
- I sent my book to the Library of Congress; where is it?
- How can my institution exchange materials with LC?
- What is the Cooperative Acquisitions Program?
- What happened to the Exchange and Gift Division, Order Division, and Overseas Operations Division?
- Does the Library of Congress (LC) sell books? The Library of Congress does not sell books or other materials from its collections to the public, nor is it able to provide directions to where such materials might be purchased. For more information, see Surplus Books Program or Cataloging Distribution Service.
- How can I buy a book with the following LCCN (Library of Congress Card Number)? LCCNs normally indicate only that LC has cataloged the book, not that LC has published it or can offer it for sale. If LC is listed as the publisher, it may be for sale from the Publishing Office, the Cataloging Distribution Service, or the Government Printing Office.
- I hear the Library of Congress gives away books?
The Library of Congress has available at all times, for donation to educational institutions, public bodies and nonprofit tax-exempt organizations in the United States, books which are surplus to its needs. For more information, see Surplus Books Program.
- How much is a book worth? The Library does not perform appraisals. Published price information is available at LC and in other libraries in such sources as: Books in Print (for books that are still available in the book trade). Also contact dealers listed in the ABAA (Antiquarian BookSellers Association of America) Membership Directory (for out of print materials). Many dealers maintain sites on the World Wide Web.
- Can I sell material to the Library of Congress?
The Library of Congress has purchase arrangements with book dealers around the world for newly published U.S. and foreign material. Do you have an item to offer for sale? If so, contact the appropriate acquisitions division chief based on the country in which the item was published.
- I sold some books to the Library. When will LC pay my bill?
The Library's goal is to pay invoices within thirty days of the receipt and acceptance of an ordered item. For material sent from a foreign source, the time is ninety days. If you experience a delay in receiving payment, please contact the acquisitions unit cited on your purchase order.
- How does the Library of Congress obtain its books and other materials? The Library of Congress obtains material by purchase, exchange, gift, transfer, the Cataloging in Publication (CIP) program and copyright deposit. We acquire materials through such sources as exchange with libraries and other organizations in this country and abroad, as gifts, via transfer from local, state and federal agencies, purchase, and copyright deposits, and from commercial vendors, individuals and publishers. We receive approximately 22,000 items (books, serials, CD-ROMs, microforms, etc.) each working day. Copyright deposits make up the core of the collections, particularly those in the map, music, motion picture, and prints and photographs divisions.
- Which vendors cover which country? Contact the acquisitions division chief based on the geographic region for which you need information.
- How are vendors selected? For current materials, the Library of Congress does try to find a vendor in the country of publication. However, in some areas, we have one vendor for a region; e.g., LC Overseas Offices, Caribbean area, etc.
For non-current materials, we use whichever vendor offers the material; e.g., a US vendor who offers us rare European publications.
- Can I donate a book to the Library? The Library welcomes inquiries about donations but unfortunately cannot accept everything. The first step is to search the Library's online catalog to see if it already is in the collections. We advise prospective donors NOT to send the item(s), but instead, send gift offers identifying the item(s) they wish to be donated [for books "identification" should include full bibliographic particulars, e.g. author, title, place and date of publication, publisher and edition statement if other than first edition or equivalent information for other formats], estimate of quantity and of physical condition. Prospective donors of books published in the United States should be aware that the Library acquires many U.S. titles through copyright deposit. For more information, contact the U.S. Copyright Office. If a book is published outside the United States, please contact the acquisition division responsible for that geographic area. If the gift offer is a large collection of items or potentially complicated, please contact the Library's Anglo-American Acquistions Division.
- I sent my book to the Library of Congress; where is it? Check the Library of Congress catalog for an entry. If you do not find it there, you might want to check with the office to which you sent it: Copyright Office, Cataloging in Publication Division, or the appropriate acquisition division.
- How can my institution exchange materials with LC?The Library of Congress has exchange arrangements with over 12,000 institutions throughout the world. If your library is interested, contact the appropriate acquisitions division chiefs based on your geographic region.
- What is the Cooperative Acquisitions Program? The Library of Congress maintains offices in Brazil, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, and Pakistan which acquire library materials for the Library and institutions that participate in its Cooperative Acquisitions Program. The mission of the overseas offices is to acquire and distribute research materials from countries where conventional acquisitions methods are inadequate, to provide bibliographic data for these materials, and to microfilm materials for preservation. For more information, see the Library of Congress Overseas Offices Home Page.
- What happened to the Exchange and Gift Division, the Order Division, and the Overseas Operations Division? Those divisions were reorganized in October 1997; they have been replaced by the African/Asian Acquisitions and Overseas Operations Division, the Anglo/American Acquisitions Division, and the European/Latin American Acquisitions Division.